


Some Things Were Meant To Be

by reeby10



Category: NCIS
Genre: First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, M/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-15 19:12:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13037604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reeby10/pseuds/reeby10
Summary: Tony misunderstands, and Abby helps him figure some things out.





	Some Things Were Meant To Be

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jane_x80](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jane_x80/gifts).



> Title and lyrics from _Can't Help Falling In Love._

Tony didn’t agree to do karaoke until after his second beer. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to sing per say, but he always felt like he sang better with a little lubrication. Plus, that meant everyone else had at least two drinks as well so they were less likely to mock him if he did terribly.

He went up to the stage after draining the last of his beer, grinning roguishly at his friends’ mixed cheers and jeers. One of the waitresses handed him the microphone and he quickly scrolled through the available songs, eventually landing on Can’t Help Falling In Love. It was one he knew well, so at least if his alcohol soaked tongue stumbled, he’d be able to hopefully pick it back up.

The music came up and the bar quieted a little, though it wasn’t silent by any means. Despite the bright lights in his eyes, he could see his friends at their table to the side and he winked at them. If nothing else, he was good at putting on a show.

Take my hand, take my whole life too  
'Cause I can't help falling in love with you  
'Cause I can't help falling in love with you

But I can't help falling in love with you

The last notes of the music trailed off and he bowed from the waist, grin widening at the applause he got. He made his way back to the table, gracefully accepting the few people he passed who cheered him with their beers. Well, it probably was the best thing they’d heard all night. Karaoke night at the bar wasn’t exactly a bastion of musical talent.

“So how was it?” he asked as he slipped back into his seat and reached for the new beer they’d ordered him.

Abby smiled brightly at him, leaning forward to give him a high five. “You should be a lounge singer,” she said, startling a laugh out of him. “No, no, I’m serious!”

“You are a really good singer, Tony,” Tim broke in as Elle and Palmer nodded.

“Aw shucks,” he replied, grin blooming on his face. He felt warm, though it was hard to tell if that was pleasure at the compliment or just the alcohol he’d been drinking.

Tim bumped shoulders with him, smile a little sloppy as he looked over at Tony. He’d obviously had a few more while Tony was singing. It took a moment for Tony to realize that Tim wasn’t moving away, just leaning up against his side while his eyes had moved to see the next singer up on stage. It was a little weird, but Tony decided not to edge him away. Tim was just a little drunk.

They continued drinking and talking, though none of them went up to sing. Tony felt a little proud that none of them thought they could do better than him; Bishop just rolled her eyes when he said that, but he’d expected nothing else. Whatever, she could be jealous of his vocal skills.

Eventually they started leaving one by one. Palmer was first, begging off in order to get home to his wife before she left for a morticians conference the next morning. Abby went not much later since she had a bowling tournament. Then it was Elle’s turn, though she didn’t say anything, just gave Tim a serious glance that Tony, in his fog of alcohol, had a hard time interpreting.

“So… just us, huh?” Tony asked once they were alone. The glass in front of him was still half full, so he at least would be staying a little longer.

“Yeah, just us,” Tim replied, voice low and full of something Tony couldn’t quite identify.

Tony looked over to see Tim edging closer to him from where he’d been after getting up to wish the others a good night. His face was determined as he leaned forward. Tony only had time for a split second of confusion before there were lips pressing against his.

Immediately, Tony jerked back. Obviously Tim was too drunk to know what he was doing, though Tony wasn’t much more sober. A laugh bubbled up before he could stop it and through the laughter, he could see Tim looking at him, a frown on his face. Finally he managed to catch his breath, the laughter dying down enough for him to talk.

“Wow, Tim, I think we need to get you some water,” he said, looking around for a waitress. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so drunk.”

Tim gaped at him for a moment. “What are you talking about?”

“Trying to kiss your best friend is a pretty good tell for how drunk you are,” Tony said a little wryly. “And I’d know. Ahh, college, there’s some awkward experiences.”

“Why-” Tim cut himself off, shaking his head. “I guess I shouldn’t have expected anything else from you, should I?” he continued, voice quiet and full of something that made Tony’s stomach twist with discomfort. “Whatever. I’m going.”

Tony opened his mouth, confused, but before he could say a word, Tim was gone. He considered going after him and trying figure out just what had happened, but the waitress appeared with two glasses of water. He downed them and decided to head home. He could always ask Tim about it later when they were both more sober.

***

On Monday, Tim wouldn’t look Tony in the eye. Every time Tony tried to talk to him, he went suspiciously deaf, not looking up from his paperwork until someone else needed to talk to him. Even when they got called to a scene around mid morning, Tony couldn’t get more than a couple words about the case out of him.

By the afternoon, Tony was absolutely fed up. He couldn’t understand why Tim was ignoring him at all. He thought they were cool after what happened Friday night, but maybe he’d misunderstood something. Unfortunately, Tim wouldn’t talk to him so he could ask.

So his only option was to go talk to Abby. She always knew what to do when it involved Tim.

“Hey, Abbs, got a minute?” he asked, knocking on the doorway to the lab.

She spun on her chair, pulling down the dust mask she’d been wearing. “I don’t have the results yet, it’ll be a couple more hours.”

“I know, I know,” he said, nodding. “I had something else I wanted to talk about. Something more… personal?”

“Ooh, then yes, pull up a stool!”

He sat, a little nervous for reasons he couldn’t really understand. It wasn’t like he hadn’t talked about personal matters with Abby before. But Tim ignoring him all day had really thrown him off and even down here, he felt off balance and unsure.

“Tell me everything,” she said, eyes bright.

So he did. He started when she’d left on Friday night and told her everything, or as much as he could remember. She was frowning by the time he got to what had happened when he got into work that morning, but he forged on. He wanted to get this all out before he lost his nerve.

When he finished the story, Abby stared at him for a long moment, gaze searching. “Tony, do you… like guys?”

He shrugged, wondering what that had to do with anything. “Yeah, dated a few,” he said, making her blink in surprise. “Why?”

“You’ve dated men before and you still can’t figure out what’s going on here? With Tim?” Abby asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “Really, Tony?”

“What does me dating men have to do with Tim though?” he snapped, frustrated. As soon as the words left his mouth, he slumped and rubbed a hand over his face. “I’m sorry, Abby, I didn’t mean to snap at you. I just don’t understand.”

“Oh, Tony.”

She came forward and hugged him, patting his head like he was a child, which he only allowed because she was well, Abby. He was a little confused by it though. He’d snapped at her in the past and she hadn’t done this, so it had to do something with what he’d said.

“Maybe you should really think about why Tim might be mad at you about Friday night,” she said when she pulled away. “Just really think about it. And about what happened Friday night too, because that’s important. Come back and tell me when you figure it out.”

“Alright…” Tony replied slowly.

He shook his and headed back up to the bullpen. As soon as he entered the area, his eyes went immediately to Tim’s desk. He wasn’t there, and neither was Bishop, so they’d probably gone off to chase some lead. It was probably for the best. Tony, apparently, needed to take some time and think about things.

***

Despite intending to think about why Tim was avoiding him, Tony immediately got caught up in the case. It was easier to get distracted by the suspicious death of a Navy lieutenant than to delve more deeply into his own thoughts. He’d never been much for self reflection. Self deflection was more his thing.

But two days later, they’d caught the killer and Tim was still not talking to him except when necessary, and even then there was a professional coldness that made Tony feel a little like he was getting stabbed in the heart every time Tim turned away from him. It looked like things were not going to just blow over, as much as he would have liked them to.

So when he got back to his apartment, he put on a movie he’d seen a thousand times — Top Gun — and settled down to hash his thoughts out.

The credits were rolling and he’d just started to slip into a sleepy daze when it suddenly hit him out of nowhere. Tim was in love with him. Of course. He didn’t know how he’d been so oblivious before, but it would certainly explain everything with Tim, even aside from Friday night.

He barely slept that night, too busy running everything over again in his head, trying to figure out his feelings. It was one thing to have realized your best friend is in love with you, it’s quite another to realize how you feel about it. That was always the hardest part for Tony, the feelings parts. He had several exes who could attest to that.

By the tie he got to work, he had a plan of sort. Mostly it involved talking to Abby again and finding out what she thought he should do, but at least it was a plan. Hopefully she wouldn’t just roll her eyes and throw him out of her lab.

“Abby, I’ve gotta talk to you!” he called over the music as he entered the lab.

The music quieted a little and a moment later Abby emerged from the back, eyebrows raised expectantly. “So, did you do what I told you to?” she asked. “I didn’t expect it to take days.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve never been good at this part,” he said, rubbing self consciously at the back of his neck. “Action’s more my think, you know.”

Abby grinned. “Sure, Tony.”

He sighed but couldn’t stop the corner of his mouth quirking up as well. “Don’t make fun of me, I’m conflicted,” he said, only joking a little.

“Does that mean you figured out why Tim is mad at you?” Her eyes were warm as she looked at him and he sighed, knowing she’d be there to help him get the words out. That made it easier.

“He’s in love with me, right?” he asked. He shifted a little, eyes darting away. “At least that’s all I can think of. He’s in love with me and I acted like he was a joke.”

“And acted like an asshole?” Abby prompted.

He grimaced, but she was right. “And acted like an asshole.”

“I’m so happy you figured that out,” she said, reaching over to envelope him in a quick hug. “Now did you figure out what you’re going to do about that? Do you… return his feelings?”

“I-” His voice caught in his throat and he coughed a little, trying to clear it. He hated that he was still having so much trouble talking about this. Maybe he should see a therapist about his issues. He probably should. Abby would have to be close enough. “I think so. But I don’t know what to do. I always know what to do. But with Tim, I don’t.”

“Becauses he’s much more important than any of the random women you sleep with for a night and then leave?” she asked, and he gave her an offended look before softening.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Then you’ve got to do more than you ever have in those relationships,” she said simply. “I can’t tell you exactly what you need to do, but I think an apology would be a good start.”

“But he won’t even talk to me!” Tony replied, frowning. It still hurt a lot that Tim had so easily ignored him the past several days. “How am I supposed to apologize if he won’t even stay in the same room as me?”

“You let me take care of that,” she said, and he was positive she would. She’d never let him down before.

“Yeah, ok,” he relented.

She smiled and rose from her chair, heading for the door. “Wait here and think about what you’re going to say,” she called over her shoulder. Then she was gone.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his mind. He probably only had a few minutes before Tim arrived and he needed to know exactly what to do. There was no room for error now that saying the wrong thing could lose him Tim forever. He’d already seen that at the bar.

“What is he doing down here, Abby?”

Tony turned to see Tim in the doorway, Abby standing just a step behind him. Tim was frowning and already seemed to be trying to turn back, but Abby was blocking the way. Tony was pretty sure he’d owe her big time after this.

“He just wants to talk, Tim, so just stay for a minute,” Abby said.

Before Tim could do anything, shut the door in his face and locked it from the outside. It looked like the two of them were stuck in the lab until she decided they could come out.

Tim walked over to Abby’s stool and took a seat, crossing his arms over his chest. “Looks like I don’t have any choice,” he said, voice angrier than Tony thought he’d ever heard. “Talk.”

So Tony did. He spilled his guts, letting loose all the things he’d been thinking about the past few days. By the time he was finished, his throat felt raw and hoarse from talking — which was quite something since he wasn’t exactly quiet usually — and he felt wrung out and empty from the flood of emotion. He stopped when he got around to the end of the story, clearing his throat a little uncomfortably.

Tim was looking at him, a strange look on his face that Tony couldn’t quite place. He hoped it was a good look, but there was nothing really for him to do now but wait and see. Either Tim was going to accept their mutual feelings, or Tony had completely blown his chance at the bar and he was about to be rejected spectacularly.

“You’re telling me that you have feelings for me too and you were just too dense to realize them?” Tim asked eventually, voice carefully measured. Tony nodded and Tim sighed, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “Unfortunately, I can totally believe you’re that emotionally repressed. But uh, I’m glad you figured it out.”

Tony raised his eyebrows, heart beating faster with sudden hope. “Does that mean that mean you accept my apology?” he asked. “And you wanna try something with… us?”

“Yeah, I guess it does,” Tim said, shaking his head, a fond smile on his face. “To both.”

In three long steps, Tony closed the distance between them and reached out to take Tim’s face in his hands. The kiss was fierce, both of them putting every bit of their feelings into the press of their lips. Tony would have been quite content to kiss Tim for the rest of the day.

There was a cough off to the side and they broke apart to see Abby standing in the doorway, a delighted smile on her face. Tony felt himself flush at being caught like that in her lab, and he was fairly certain Tim was trying to smother himself in Tony’s shoulder.

“You two having fun over there?” Abby asked, giggling a little as Tim groaned. “Sorry to break it up, but Gibbs wants you upstairs.”

Tony sighed, because of course he wanted them both upstairs right now. He was pretty sure Gibbs had a sixth sense for them breaking one of his rules, and this was breaking one good.

“Guess we’d better head up then, huh?” he asked, looking over at Tim, who was still looking a little red in the face.

Tim nodded and headed for the door. Tony followed him automatically, stopping just for a quick kiss of thanks to Abby’s cheek. “Yeah. We’ll just have to pick this up later.”

**Author's Note:**

> Concrit welcome. If you like my fic, feel free to come hit me up [on tumblr](http://voldiebuns.tumblr.com/)!


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